1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sun visors for vehicles and more particularly to a sun visor assembly having an outer covering that includes a reinforcing core plate.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known to provide a sun visor for the windshield of a vehicle, wherein the sun visor is mounted on the vehicle body roof for movement between a storage position adjacent the vehicle headliner, a first use position adjacent the windshield, and a second use position adjacent a side door window opening. One known sun visor includes a solid inner core of pressed wood material and an outer covering of foam-backed cloth adhered to or otherwise affixed to a kraft paper foundation. The covering is folded over the core and is edge sewn along a seam circumjacent the periphery of the core.
More recently, there has been developed a sun visor assembly that includes a number of modular core components secured within a cloth covered kraft paper foundation. To provide the necessary rigidity and support, the kraft paper foundation is thickened and a reinforcing adhesive is applied around the periphery of the foundation to secure the foundation halves together. The thickened foundation and reinforcing adhesive inhibit flexion of the sun visor during movement thereof. While the aforementioned sun visors are a robust design, manufacturers continue to improve upon these designs to reduce material and manufacturing costs, while enhancing rigidity and resistance to flexion.
A sun visor assembly is provided that includes an outer covering having two covering halves. A reinforcing core plate is attached to one of the covering halves. An upper edge of the reinforcing core plate includes a support flange that cooperates with the reinforcing core plate to define a channel. At least one visor core component is received within the channel and rotatably engages a visor support rod.
In an embodiment of the invention, the core plate is made of sheet-metal that is formed to create the support flange. The reinforcing core plate permits the outer covering to be manufactured out of inexpensive, less reinforcing materials or out of traditional covering materials having a substantially thinner cross-section. The reinforcing core plate also functions to eliminate structural adhesives used to secure the cover halves together and provide reinforcement. The reinforcing core plate accomplishes these functions without sacrificing rigidity or resistance to flexion, and even improves these properties.